Emma's Understanding
by 15ekaytert887
Summary: Killian can't understand why the heroes have decided to forgive and forget when it comes to the Wicked Witch but when he voices his opinions to Emma he gets an unexpected Answer.


"Remind me again why we forgave that witch." Killian spits out as he takes a swig from his flask and slams it with a little to much force onto the table.

He was furious. Zelina was once again causing trouble instead of helping the heroes and he was the only one who seemed to still think of her as the villain she truly was. Regina had swore that Zelina had changed but at times like these Killian didn't  
really believe that she had. He knew that the heroes both preached and practiced in the ways of second chances. Hell he wouldn't be here if they didn't. However Zelina had had more than a second chance or even a third. Quite honestly Killian  
had lost track of which chance she was currently screwing up but it didn't matter to him. He may not hate her as much as the Dark One but in all honesty he hated her almost as much. Unlike the rest of Storybrooke he hadn't forgotten what she had done  
to Emma, to Bae, to Henry, to the entire god damn charming family when she took Neal, not to mention the curse she had put on his own bloody lips or her actions in Camelot.

Emma's voice pulls him out of his angry thoughts "She killed Hades." she responded cooly not looking up from her book.

Killian snorted at that. Yeah, Zelina had killed Hades so maybe that was a strike in the hero column for her but how did that compare to all the other strikes in the villain column she had? In the back of his mind Killian knew he was being hypocritical.  
If he truly wanted to compare sins he knew what his record would look like, however he had been trying his absolute damnedest to change and be a better man. His stint as the Dark One had only reinvigorated these efforts. Where as Zelina on the  
other hand hadn't done a bloody good deed or even helped them in any way since their defeat of Hades. "Lot of good she's done since" he grumbles as he takes another swig from his flask.

Emma snaps the book she was pouring over shut and he looks at her, surprised to see her as angry as she clearly is. He knew that his opinions on Cora's first born weren't exactly shared by the heroes but he had thought that Emma of all people would understand  
where he was coming from.

Killian watched as his true love stormed over to the book shelf not looking at him and hastily grabbed more books to look through. It had been a very long day of research but they still hadn't found anything that could help their current predicament.  
The rest of their family had left hours ago but he had stayed, knowing that Emma wouldn't stop until she found something that could help them.

"All Zelina seems to do is continually cause us trouble." he says. By the look on her face it's clear that he should stop talking but it's late and he's tired and frustrated so he keeps pushing. "Also might I remind you that she's  
tried to kill us all, on several occasions." He tells her knowing damn well that she doesn't need reminding.

"She killed Hades." Emma snaps at him again finally turning to look at him. "She has every right to be a bit unpredictable right now."

Once again Killian just snorts. Sure everyone reacts to killing people differently but none of the others had flown off the handle and causing trouble like the wicked witch was. Besides she had killed Marion with hardly batting an eyelash and he would  
bet his right hand that she had left a trail of blood in her past almost as bad as his own. So how was this somehow different?

"Why does she get a free pass to act like the witch she is just because she helped us defeat one villain versus the many we've defeated before?" He asks irritably.

Emma doesn't say anything for a long minute as she walks back to the table and sits down. She makes a show of neatly arranging the books she has brought back in front of her. Killian just waits for an answer looking at her through narrowed eyes.

When she finally does respond she doesn't look at him and it's so quiet he may have missed it if he wasn't actively waiting for her to say something.

"Because she killed Hades."

At first Killian wants to snort at her identical answer but when he looks at her she avoids his gaze. There's something she's not saying and he wants to know what it is because whatever it is seems to be weighing on her. So instead he collects himself  
and manages a calm façade.

"Yeah, You've mentioned that…and I do appreciate that she saved us all but-" he begins to argue again when Emma's head finally snaps back up to look at him but instead of the anger he's expecting he sees pain in her eyes.

"Killian Zelina killed Hades. She killed her true love. All to protect her family!" She roars her green eyes wrought with equal parts anguish and anger. But just as suddenly as her violent outburst had come it was gone. Emma looks back down  
and takes a deep breath. She's still looking down at her hands when she speaks again and her voice is filled with so much pain it breaks Killians heart. "I just…I kind of…get how she must be feeling right now…" she trails off still refusing  
to meet his gaze.

Killian instantly feels terrible for pushing for an answer. His death had nearly broken his Swan and he never wants her to relive that pain again as she was so obviously doing by confessing this to him. He gets up and kneels in front of her. His hand  
goes up to wipe away the tear that's escaped her eyes and he rests his Hook at her waist. He holds her face in his hand and gently strokes her cheek.

"It's ok love, you don't have to say anything else, I get it." Killian reassures her. He would do anything to take back what she had to go through. Hatred and self loathing burn through him at seeing the pain in her eyes, knowing that he's the  
reason it's there, but he pushes it away, focusing on comforting her instead. "I'm here now, I'm not going anywhere. Not ever again. I promise." He whispers as more tears escape her. There's nothing he can do to undo what he did but he will  
spend the rest of his life trying to make up for it.

Emma's green eyes finally meet his. She places her own hands over his, securing his hand to her. She's about to speak when Killian cuts her off "You don't have to Swan."

"No" she shakes her head and removes his hand from her face but she keeps it in her grasp moving them to her lap. "I do." She says with a small smile as she squeezes his hand lightly before continuing. "Look Killian your right.  
She's only making things worse and it's frustrating as all hell having to be constantly fighting her as well as everything else were up against. I'm not saying I agree with what she's done-or is currently doing-or that I would have made the  
same choices if…" she stops and takes a deep shaky breathe as if to calm herself and when she does Killian opens his mouth to try and tell her again that she doesn't have to say anything more but Emma raises her hand to stop him. He quickly snaps  
his mouth shut and again waits for her to continue. He knows that expressing her emotions in any capacity was hard enough for his Swan let alone having to explain to him what she's is.

Emma takes another deep breath and continues her voice slightly stronger than it was before. "If you hadn't been sent back...I don't know how I would have found a way to cope. And I can't find it in me to blame Zelina for how she's handling it. We'll  
stop her of course, we always do but…"

Emma shakes her head as if to unscramble her thoughts "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I just have a better understanding of where she's coming from is all." Emma had been looking down at their hands in her lap this entire time finally  
looks hesitantly back up to meet Killian's gaze.

Once again Killian has to force down the feelings of hatred and self loathing he feels wash through him at her confession and he slowly brings his hand back up to her face and then leans in to kiss her.

It's soft tender and loving. He can still taste the salt of her tears and feel her slight tremble as she attempts to get her emotions in check. His hand moves to cradle the back of her head and when they finally pull apart he leans his forehead against  
hers, breathing her in and drowns himself in his all consuming love for her.

"I'm sorry." He finally says, their heads still pressed together, his hand holding the back of her neck keeping her their.

"It's ok." She says quietly a small smile in her voice. Killian knows better than to tell her that no, it's not ok- they had had that argument after his return from the underworld but right now wasn't the time to fight her on it.

Killian pulls back to look at her and once again he moves to hold her face in his hand, his face serious "I love you. More than anything. I Always bloody have and always will. You know that right?" He says earnestly, staring deeply into  
her soft green eyes. The pain he had seen there moments ago now replaced with love and tenderness.

"I know." Emma says reaching up to stroke his cheek "I love you too." Killian pulls her in for another brief but loving kiss before he pulls away.

"No more bad mouthing Zelina." He promises lightly. Emma just rolls her eyes at that making him smile "ok your right that's not bloody likely but I'll try to keep it to a minimum." He amends. Emma smiles and lightly squeezes his cheek.

"Thank you." 


End file.
